


Black Dust

by starryeyedboxes



Category: Septiplier - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4365821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryeyedboxes/pseuds/starryeyedboxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Imagine Person A of your OTP has been depressed for a very long time, and after a particularly bad day they spend a long time in the bathtub, contemplating suicide/drowning themselves. Then Person B, after noticing Person A hasn’t been out for a really long while, decides to come in the bathroom and sit with person A until they are ready to get out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Black Dust

**Author's Note:**

> I've been feeling pretty down lately, so sorry Jack, I suppose it gets taken out on you. Hahah.

Jack was sitting in the bathtub, slumping his body so the only part of him surfaced was from the nose up as well as the tips of his knees. His entire being was tired. He could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him. The slight dripping from the water kept him from falling asleep as the water became cold, the warmth evaporating into the air. 

He closed his eyes, reveling in the sadness he felt. It was like smoke. It crawled in through his bones, filled his lungs until it burned, clouded his heart with a subtle but devastating clutch. It was as if it was trying to convince him that it was his friend, but no matter how many times Jack told himself that it wasn’t, he would end up finding himself curling up against it, that black dust caressing his incredibly exhausted skin.

 _What would it be like to evaporate into this?_ He questioned. _To sink in. To never feel again._

Jack wasn’t sure how long he had been in there, but when he heard the door creak open, he was surprised to see his boyfriend peek his head in, his face absent of his glasses. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Jack merely sunk a little lower into the water, some the soapy suds slipping onto the tiled floor. He nodded slightly but refused to meet his lover’s gaze. 

Mark stepped in further and shut the door behind him. Much to his curiosity, Jack watched as the man sat on the floor, his back pressed against the wall, his hand reaching into the water to grab Jack’s. They fingers interlaced underneath the surface, and the Irishman was surprised his that the older of the two didn’t pull away when the sleeve of his flannel dampened from the high water.

“What’re you doing?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Mark mumbled, resting his head on the wall as he looked up and closed his eyes. “You’ve been in here for the last two hours.”

“I’m fine.”

“I know you better than that.”

Sighing, Jack simply squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “Do you ever feel like you’re always on the outside looking in?”

“What do you mean, Jackaboy?”

“Do you sometimes feel like you bask in someone else’s glory, Mark?” He paused. “I wonder if you feel like I’m an imposter. Someone you wish you never picked up at lunch that first time we met and plopped me into your circle. You’ve never shown me anything that would even give me reason to think that, yet I can’t help but wonder anyway.” 

“Why on Earth would you wonder that?” Brown eyes met blue, and Jack felt like he shrunk a million sizes smaller, his throat tightening at the pained look Mark wore. “I’ve never regretted meeting you. Everyone loves you. Suzy, Ken, Arin, Kevin, the lot. They love you to death, Jack. And so do I.”

Jack’s eyes fluttered back to the dripping faucet in front of him, his weary eyes glossed over slightly. It was an awful feeling. Why he let that black dust fill his lungs was beyond him. He didn’t understand why he allowed it to crawl up and take over, but here he was, practically drowning in his own sorrow. 

“I just question the validity of how you view me. Why me? Why would you pick up the raggedy kid who was eating by himself in the back of the cafeteria and introduce me to your friends? You were the all-star kid in high school, you know. Why would the golden kid pick up the lonely foreign student?”

“You’re more special than you give yourself credit for, my little Jack,” Mark chuckled, leaning over to rest his head on Jack’s damp hair. “You’re a great guy. You’re filled with so much dedication and passion. It’s what drew me to you. Do you remember when you first entered the talent show? You were so nervous, and I don’t know if you remember, but that’s actually how we first met.”

“It wasn’t in the cafeteria?”

“Nope. You were so damn determined to leave your place in this school that you hastily signed up for the talent show -- I know, because I was the one who helped you fill out the papers. But you were so eager to perform, and it was crazy. I had never heard you play before, but when you stormed up to that stage and played your little energetic heart out, I knew there was something special about you. I was working backstage at the time, volunteer hours and all.”

“Of course, golden child,” Jack scoffed.

“ _Anyway,_ ” he playfully noted, nudging Jack ever so slightly. “Do you remember that girl who was nervous to go on stage and play her cello?”

“Faintly. I was nervous myself, so I barely remember.”

“Do you remember calming her down and convincing her to do it anyway? That she would regret leaving more than she ever would if she went on stage and at least tried.”

“Barely.”

“I saw it all. You were so comforting to her, and guess what? She even went on stage and performed because of your kind words. That was Suzy. Which I assume you also don’t remember.”

A few more moments passed before Jack simply shook his head.

“Your heart is made of gold, and I knew that from that night. Me approaching you in the cafeteria wasn’t out of pity or pure coincidence. I wanted to be around you. I wanted nothing more than to just hug you and thank you for inspiring a dear friend of mine like that. And I loved the way you poured your heart out into your music on stage. You wanted to make sure that everyone knew who you were, and you were so set on that notion. It was wonderful.”

Sighing, Jack felt a headache begin. But he ignored it, and felt a few tears stream down his face. He just prayed that Mark wouldn’t notice. 

“Mark, your sunshine is absolutely golden,” he began, his voice betraying him entirely as it cracked under the pressure. “You had everything. The friends, the grades, the reputation, the humor, the athleticism. Everyone either wanted to be you, wanted to be your friend, or wanted to be with you, and that’s amazing. I spent so much of high school wondering what I was to you.” 

“You even questioned it when I asked you out to prom? To be my boyfriend two weeks later?” 

“Maybe.”

A small chuckle fell from Mark’s lips as he used his free hand to run his fingers across Jack’s damp cheek, then his collar bones. “You’re absolutely silly.”

“I am not.”

“Jack, you’re absolutely beautiful, inside and out. Please believe me when I say that. I wouldn’t be here if I thought otherwise. You may view me as the golden kid, but to me, you were my everything. I was the person everyone looked up to, and for no real reason. It was simply for the fact I was involved with everything on campus. But I lacked what you held so much. Passion. Drive. You made me strive to be passionate about my activities again, that I wasn’t just mindlessly doing them. Don’t cut yourself short, Jackaboy. I fell in love with your character the moment I saw you on that drumset, so caught up in your music and talent. I fell in love with you when you expressed that same passion about me.”

“You’re a sap.”

This time, Mark let out a loud round of laughter, one that echoed off of the bathroom walls and settled in between the two. Jack felt himself smile for the first time that night, his eyes half-lidded.

“Yeah, but I’m just saying. You seem to think I’ve done all this great stuff for you, when in reality, it flows both ways. I helped you open up more, and you’ve helped me find the drive and passion I need to help me continue. It’s a two-way street, okay? Don’t think that you’ve done nothing, or that I ‘outshine’ you or whatever. If anything, you’ve been my shining star. Now c’mon. Let’s get you out of this freezing ass water and into some warm clothes.”

And Jack let him. He let his lover pull him out of the bathtub, help him dry his shivering body with the towel when his limp arms were too tired to so. He even let him drain the water, pull him to their bedroom, and slowly dress his body in a pair of Mark’s boxers and even one of his shirts.

Jack took in the wonderful scent of his boyfriend, curling up into it as Mark pulled him back on the bed, his damp flannel replaced with a dry shirt, his own pants discarded. The two tangled themselves underneath the covers as Jack let Mark whisper lovely compliments and nostalgic stories of their past in between deep kisses and comforting squeezes when he would shed a tear every once in a while.

The moon was incredibly high in the sky by the time Jack felt himself drifting off to the sweet sound of Mark’s lovely voice, reminding him that he was going to be okay. 

He would be okay.


End file.
